Welcome to The Knight Stalker; a blog where PNR Author Shelbie Knight chats about what she loves most - reading and writing!

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On these pages, Knight rules and brings to life the sexy supernaturals from your wildest imagination!

May 13, 2013

Author Interview: J.K. Coi

Author, J.K. Coi

J.K. Coi is in a league of
her own in the Paranormal Romance genre. Her writing is descriptive,
provocative, inspiring and steamy. Reading her work did more than simply
entertain me; it engaged and enraptured me.

As
a reader, one of my first introductions to Paranormal Romance was made through
reading J.K. Coi'sMy Immortal;
her first title in the Immortal Series. I was hooked from the start, and
continued reading the remainder of her available series - Immortal Kiss and Dark
Immortal.

I
am thrilled to announce that, finally, there is another addition to this
wonderful series! J.K. Coi's newest release,Forever Immortal, is due to for releaseWednesday, May 15.

Even
more exciting is J.K. has agreed to sit down with me for a detailed interview
to discuss her upcoming new release, as well giving you the opportunity to
learn a little something about her!

Q:What
originally inspired you to become an Author; did you always want to be an author? Why did you choose to write in the genre of Paranormal
Romance?

A: I’ve been a
huge reader my entire life, and I started writing way back in high school. I
won my first literary contest when I was in grade 10, with a story about a
rabbit in the forest. I guess it was about six years ago when I decided to try
and take a lifelong love of writing to the next level, by submitting my work to
publishers.

And I’ve just always gravitated to paranormal
and horror because those are the genres I read and feel most comfortable
with—although I do write a lot in other genres as well, including contemporary
romance.

Q: Which
Author has offered the most inspiration to you, in your writing? Why?

A: I take inspiration
from many different places, and all of the authors on my “keeper shelf” inspire
me with their fantastic stories. I also greatly admire the authors in the
Toronto Romance Writers who are very generous with their time and experience,
and are always willing to lend a hand to new authors with questions. Kelley
Armstrong is one of those authors, and she has truly been my inspiration. Not
only is she wildly successful, but she’s also one of the most genuine and
giving authors I have ever met.

Q: If
you could work with any Author, who would it be and

A: I do not know if I
would be able to work with another author, LOL. I am pretty anal about my work
and it is very hard to find someone who shares your process enough to make it
work together in the same project. I envy those writers who have found a
co-writing partner because if you can make it work, that would
be a very rewarding partnership.

Q: What is a typical working day like for you? When and
where do you write? Do you set a daily writing goal?

A: I do set a word goal
every day, which can be flexible depending on the amount of time I have to my
deadline, or the amount of writing time I am going to have for the day. Since I
work a day job, I write a little bit on my lunch hour, and then I will do most
of my writing in the evening after kiddo has gone to bed. I do not often get a
lot of writing done on weekends, since I spend that time with the family. This
makes me a very slow writer, but I balance everything the best I can.

Q: What
advice could you offer to someone who is interested in becoming an Author?

A: I have been asked
this a lot and my opinion is not to rush it. I know that with the easy
availability of self-publishing many authors are jumping into the publishing
arena with both feet—and that’s not a bad thing at all—I just want to urge
writers to do everything they can to ensure their very best work is being put
out there. If that means taking some writer’s courses, then great. If it means
revising and revising and revising again, then do it. Because if writing is
going to be your career, you have a reputation to protect. For an author,
reputation is at least 80% about the quality of books they offer to readers.

Q: You
have written three books so far in your Immortal Series - Immortal Duty,
Immortal Kiss and Dark Immortal; which book did you enjoy writing the most?
Why?

A: I can honestly say
that I enjoyed all of them. I think Immortal Duty will always have a special
place in my heart because it was my very first book. However, I loved the back
and forth between Max and Baron in Immortal
Kiss, and the emotional punch of Dark
Immortal. The last book in this series, Forever
Immortal, is the book I HAD to write because Gideon was always in the back
of my head, whispering to me. Having said that, now that I have written Forever Immortal, I am excited to write
the next story too.

Q: Of all of your books, which did you find the hardest (or easiest)
to write? Why?

A: Every book is
difficult for me. When I am in the middle of a writing project, I get really
caught up in it. I am a worrier, and I worry that the conflict is not dark
enough, the motivation is not deep enough, and the plot is not fast enough. If
I did not have the support of awesome critique partners who keep me going, I
would probably never finish anything.

Q: Can
you please tell the readers something about your upcoming book, Forever Immortal, due out May 15?

A: As soon as I finished
writing the first book in this series, Forever
Immortal was going to be book 2, but then I realized that Gideon was not
quite ready for his own book and there were a few Immortals who had to come
before him. However, from the very beginning, I knew what his story was going
to be and I even wrote half of it before I started Immortal Kiss or Dark
Immortal. When it was finally time to write this book, Forever Immortal was supposed to be the last book in the series,
but everything was twisted and now I know there has to be at least one more.

In the meantime, though, here is the blurb for
Forever Immortal

Eight years ago, science and reason ruled Gideon
Bennett’s life. Until the death of an Immortal triggered a physical
transformation, forcing him out of the laboratory and into a world of violence
for which he was ill prepared. Now a seasoned warrior, he is still haunted by
his one massive failure—and the face and body of the woman he could not save.

Lyssa James was not looking for trouble when she
set out to enjoy a night on the town. Instead, she got a first-class ticket to
a demon Hell dimension where she was trapped for eight long years. Now she has
finally escaped…only to run into the man who failed her. The passion between
them is instant and irresistible, but neither of them is the same person they
were eight years ago. In addition, even as they battle with their desire, one
of the nastiest demons from the Abyss is on the loose, threatening not only
their lives but also the future of humans.

Q: What is your favorite
part of the book?

A: Gideon and Lyssa have
such a tortured relationship, I wanted to make sure there were some lighter
moments between them, and those ended up being my favorite parts!

Here is a short excerpt from one of those moments that shows both
the light and the dark

Gideon stalked over to the refrigerator and
pulled it open. “What would you like to eat? I can make pretty much anything.”

“You’re kidding me, right?” She had not eaten a
real meal in over eight years. How was she supposed to make a choice like that?

“Look,” he told her, his tone very serious. “You
tell me what you want, and I’ll make it. Anything you want.”

“You don’t have to—”

“Yes,” he interrupted, “I do.”

She looked into his eyes and sighed. Nyx did not
like that he felt responsible for what had happened to her, especially when she
wasn’t even sure that she blamed him.

She wished that she did, because not hating him
meant that maybe they did not have to be enemies, that she might start to let
her guard down.

That made everything more complicated. Why
couldn’t he be a cruel and ruthless warrior who wanted her dead? Her own
choices would have been so much simpler.

“Do you have any lettuce?” she asked, suddenly knowing exactly
what she wanted.

“Lettuce?” He looked incredulous. “I’m
offering to make you absolutely anything you want, and you ask me for lettuce?”

“No. Not just lettuce.” She
could picture the salad in her head and her mouth started to water in
anticipation. “What I really want is a salad. A salad with crisp, fresh
lettuce, maybe some baby spinach and bean sprouts, pine nuts and mandarin
wedges thrown in, with a raspberry dressing.”

Gideon stared, his mouth hanging open.
“Um…that’s actually pretty specific. I was thinking you were going to say you
wanted a nice juicy steak and maybe a baked potato. You know…for the protein
and energy.”

Nyx laughed—a real laugh. “Only a guy would come
out of hell and ask for a steak. Do you know what kind of plants grow in a
place like that?” She raised her eyebrows at his incredulous expression. “None.
The only bio-matter comes from the stunted, scraggly weeds that push their way
through the dry cracks in the rocks and dusty earth every once in a while. But then
the air is so hot and dry, and there’s barely any water, so even those poor
withered stalks die within days. And forget finding any fruit or vegetables.”

“Then what did you eat?”

Nyx was suddenly ashamed. She didn’t want him to
know the animal she had become in that place. Gideon’s expression was
inscrutable. She thought she sensed a trace of disgust in his voice, and it
hurt to think that he might disapprove of how she had been forced to survive.

Then came anger. She’d like to see him to do any
better faced with the same set of circumstances.

Gideon must have sensed her discomfort, because
he let the matter drop without another word, easily moving back to her dinner
request. “Well, if it’s a salad you want, I can definitely do that.” He turned to
the refrigerator and started pulling things out and setting them on the
countertop. “I should have everything except for the raspberry dressing. Since
when did raspberry become a salad dressing anyway? Whatever happened to plain
old ranch dressing? And what’s with the oranges? I didn’t even know you could
put fruit in a salad.”

He sounded so normal, mumbling to himself like
that, so much like a typical man. Maybe she could do this. Maybe all she had to
do was pretend to be normal too, and eventually it would be true.

Q: What question have you most wanted to be asked
in an interview?

A: “Do you want to know
the winning lottery numbers?”

My answer – “YES!” LOL

Thanks Shelbie for the
great interview!! I have had a ton of fun with your questions!

JK Coi

My sincerest thanks to J.K. Coi for taking the time to share with us! I am anxiously awaiting the release of Forever Immortal!

If you are interested in learning more about J.K. Coi, her Immortal Series, or any of her other work, below are links where you can find it all!

Thank you for visiting my blog and sharing this wonderful experience with me! Please excuse the errors in the formatting - no matter what I did, I simply could not get things to line correctly!